The Phoenix Group Tackles Hospitalist Workforce Shortage
The Phoenix Group, a think-tank comprised of leading hospitalist groups in private practice, has published a white paper on the pressing workforce shortage in hospital medicine.
03.06.2008
Phoenix, Ariz., March 6, 2008 – The Phoenix Group, a think-tank comprised of leading hospitalist groups in private practice, has published a white paper on the pressing workforce shortage in hospital medicine. The paper, entitled “Confronting the Hospitalist Workforce Shortage,” is an examination of the group’s collective consensus on the scope of the problem and on recommended solutions.
“As the nation's fastest- growing medical specialty, hospitalists have been shown to increase the quality of care and reduce healthcare costs,” said Stephen Houff, MD, CEO of Hospitalists Management Group and a founding member of the Phoenix Group. “In order to ensure the continuing growth of the hospital medicine segment, and to continue to deliver these benefits in patient care and cost control, it is crucial to obtain and retain qualified physicians.”
The consensus of the Phoenix Group was that solutions for the hospitalist workforce should not rest solely with expansion of the supply of new hospitalists. Efforts should also address improving productivity to maximize the deployment and utilization of existing hospitalists, and increasing job satisfaction among current hospitalists to improve retention.
Recommendations from the Phoenix Group included:
•Proactively reaching out to family practitioners and osteopathic physicians about hospital medicine as a career option.
•Increasing the use of mid-level providers in hospital medicine, including physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
•Achieving faster issuance of new state medical licenses to unclog the current backlog, thereby increasing the pool of available licensed physicians in different states.
•Advocating for changes in visa laws to allow a greater number of qualified physicians who are foreign nationals into the U.S. healthcare system.
•Taking advantage of technology and other support systems to handle non-clinical activities, so that physicians can improve their productivity by focusing on patient care.
The Phoenix Group concluded that with adequate planning, resourcefulness and experienced leadership, the workforce shortage can be mitigated, enabling the field of hospital medicine to continue its impressive growth. The comprehensive solutions outlined by the group will enable hospital medicine to fulfill its promise to increase the quality of patient care and reduce healthcare costs by managing a patient’s entire hospital experience, driving the healthcare delivery system toward better and more patient-focused care.
This is the second white paper published by the group. To view the white paper in its entirety, go to: www.phoenixgroupwhitepaper.com.
About The Phoenix Group
Formed as a think-tank for hospital medicine in 2007, The Phoenix Group's mission is to provide leadership and focus to the many issues facing the thousands of hospitalists in private practice in the U.S. today. The Phoenix Group membership collectively represents almost 2,000 hospitalists which, according to the Society of Hospital Medicine [SHM] statistics, comprise over 20% of hospitalists working in some form of a private practice setting. The inspiration for The Phoenix Group was the success in the 1980s of the now famous Jackson Hole Group, whose ideas came to form the basis of today’s managed care programs.
“As the nation's fastest- growing medical specialty, hospitalists have been shown to increase the quality of care and reduce healthcare costs,” said Stephen Houff, MD, CEO of Hospitalists Management Group and a founding member of the Phoenix Group. “In order to ensure the continuing growth of the hospital medicine segment, and to continue to deliver these benefits in patient care and cost control, it is crucial to obtain and retain qualified physicians.”
The consensus of the Phoenix Group was that solutions for the hospitalist workforce should not rest solely with expansion of the supply of new hospitalists. Efforts should also address improving productivity to maximize the deployment and utilization of existing hospitalists, and increasing job satisfaction among current hospitalists to improve retention.
Recommendations from the Phoenix Group included:
•Proactively reaching out to family practitioners and osteopathic physicians about hospital medicine as a career option.
•Increasing the use of mid-level providers in hospital medicine, including physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
•Achieving faster issuance of new state medical licenses to unclog the current backlog, thereby increasing the pool of available licensed physicians in different states.
•Advocating for changes in visa laws to allow a greater number of qualified physicians who are foreign nationals into the U.S. healthcare system.
•Taking advantage of technology and other support systems to handle non-clinical activities, so that physicians can improve their productivity by focusing on patient care.
The Phoenix Group concluded that with adequate planning, resourcefulness and experienced leadership, the workforce shortage can be mitigated, enabling the field of hospital medicine to continue its impressive growth. The comprehensive solutions outlined by the group will enable hospital medicine to fulfill its promise to increase the quality of patient care and reduce healthcare costs by managing a patient’s entire hospital experience, driving the healthcare delivery system toward better and more patient-focused care.
This is the second white paper published by the group. To view the white paper in its entirety, go to: www.phoenixgroupwhitepaper.com.
About The Phoenix Group
Formed as a think-tank for hospital medicine in 2007, The Phoenix Group's mission is to provide leadership and focus to the many issues facing the thousands of hospitalists in private practice in the U.S. today. The Phoenix Group membership collectively represents almost 2,000 hospitalists which, according to the Society of Hospital Medicine [SHM] statistics, comprise over 20% of hospitalists working in some form of a private practice setting. The inspiration for The Phoenix Group was the success in the 1980s of the now famous Jackson Hole Group, whose ideas came to form the basis of today’s managed care programs.